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Last week, I shut off Facebook (it was mostly over the weekend, but there were some weekdays in there. I couldn't handle being bombarded with news of shootings, politics, and conspiracy theories, and I just had enough of reality.
Aside from giving Emily another henna job while we watched tv, I didn't even get much done - I just wanted to shut everything out and veg on the couch. Til Charles came home to report what's happening around the corner from us. A giant protest rally with every single city cop wearing riot gear in formation, blocking off the entire East End, slowly backing the protesters into an alley, ready to wrangle them into a paddy wagon. I walked down there and watched - slowly getting closer, until a fight broke out not ten feet from where I stood - in the dark, it's just a mass of fists and billy clubs and people falling to the ground, disappearing into the swarm. I couldn't get over my shock enough to capture it, but I got some video footage right afterwards (you can see it by looking up @fawndolyn on instagram).
During the week, I translated the first episode of a Quebec French show called Motel Monstre, which I saw on TV during my last trip to Toronto. It's a kid show, but I really enjoyed the cinematography and character designs. It's cute. And I think a kid show is a good start for learning Quebecois.
It took an episode and a half to realize maybe I should take notes on some of the colloquial pieces I run into. And it took half an episode to realize I accidentally started from the end, and had translated the last episode instead of the first (I finally finished the first this week).
At home, I'm taking my translation and the clean video from the website, and am using Premiere Pro to put subtitles on (I've found it easier to create titles burned onto the video itself, instead of making a subtitle track - maybe someday, I'll learn the other way around). Placing the subtitles is tough, but it's really helping me be able to get a good ear for Quebecois.
My ultimate plan is to try to finish an episode a week and upload it to either Vimeo or YouTube, but sitting at a computer for so long gets hard, especially in the summer heat. I may have to say every other week, and hold off til I have a few under my belt to get uploading.
My friends Jackie and Chris got married over the weekend. I overate and spent a good portion of the evening with a bad stomach-ache, and leaving the room to lay down somewhere else. I will eat like a bird usually, but when I'm around a LOT of food, my willpower goes out the window. Everything tasted amazing, though! And I had a good time otherwise.
They had a bit of a Harry Potter theme going - The wedding and reception were held at the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, which is the closest look Rochester has to Hogwarts. The placement cards (for who sits where) were scattered around a sorting hat, and next to that, the party favours were bags of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and little Gladiolus bulbs made out to look like Mandrake roots.
I felt like I wasn't meant to dance with the bride or groom, though. I danced with Chris a little bit, and we talked about the honeymoon, and Japan, and he revealed that he minor'd in Japanese, and actually went to Japan. What? I wanted to know so much more! But no, Jackie stole him away from me. And then when Jackie beckoned me onto the dance floor, she said she hasn't gotten to dance with me all night, and that's as far as we got before she got called away to someone else. I felt really sad about that and there was nothing I could do about it except watch everyone else get their chance with them.
But to end it on a happy note, I really did have a good time. Plenty more happy moments than not (there's also a video of The Kiss on my instaG).
Pokemon Go... oh boy.
I don't know shit about Pokemon, but I downloaded it to see what's all the rage. It's cute, but even on energy-saver, it drains the battery, and skyrockets my data usage. After my first day, I got a text saying I've used 90% of my allowance (not sure where I was at before, but I usually get notified when I'm at 75%, too). I'm not going to talk about the conspiracy privacy thing (apparently, the privacy policy gives full access to gmail).
The data/battery aside, this game shows a lot of benefits.
First, it gets people (who might not otherwise) out of the house and walking around. And with as big a hit as this is, all the Poke-nerds are coming out to play, and you walk down the street, or look at the large groups of relatively young people in any area, and they're all looking at their phones, and it's different than any other group of young people who look at their phones. It's like watching zombies, but they socialize in a different way. They still talk to each other, even in passing, you might hear, "Happy hunting!" from a passerby. And no, people aren't walking while glued to their phones - you put your phone down by your side and walk. You'll feel a buzz when a pokemon appears (and it won't disappear before you've finished crossing the street, so hurry up).
And that's the second thing. Not only are people getting a little bit more exercise and breathing fresh air (good for physical and mental health), but they're socializing. Back in the day, Pokemon was played with other players - that much hasn't changed. Then there was the show and the video game, and the social aspect was taken away. Nobody left the room, the basement, the corner of a school lobby... Now, like an old fashioned card tournament, people are getting out there and meeting other players. Meeting new people. On my first day, I exchanged knowing glances and met a bunch of people at one spot alone. They gave me a few good tips, and we all hunted together. It was great. I saw people exchanging info on the park bench, groups moseying over to other groups to chat, and I just thought it was all pretty cool.
Even in the middle of the night, the little hotspots around town had a few people chilling out.
As for this week, nothing much. Going to see Gin Blossoms tomorrow. Going to see Weird Science on Friday. Oh! I started my pole classes! Holy hell, my arms are gonna be ROCKIN' at the end of the summer! And hardcore pms-eating.
For the rest of the week, I shall prepare an asexual-aware goth outfit for the pride parade on Saturday. It will most likely be the ace colors via accessories and buttons.
Aside from giving Emily another henna job while we watched tv, I didn't even get much done - I just wanted to shut everything out and veg on the couch. Til Charles came home to report what's happening around the corner from us. A giant protest rally with every single city cop wearing riot gear in formation, blocking off the entire East End, slowly backing the protesters into an alley, ready to wrangle them into a paddy wagon. I walked down there and watched - slowly getting closer, until a fight broke out not ten feet from where I stood - in the dark, it's just a mass of fists and billy clubs and people falling to the ground, disappearing into the swarm. I couldn't get over my shock enough to capture it, but I got some video footage right afterwards (you can see it by looking up @fawndolyn on instagram).
During the week, I translated the first episode of a Quebec French show called Motel Monstre, which I saw on TV during my last trip to Toronto. It's a kid show, but I really enjoyed the cinematography and character designs. It's cute. And I think a kid show is a good start for learning Quebecois.
It took an episode and a half to realize maybe I should take notes on some of the colloquial pieces I run into. And it took half an episode to realize I accidentally started from the end, and had translated the last episode instead of the first (I finally finished the first this week).
At home, I'm taking my translation and the clean video from the website, and am using Premiere Pro to put subtitles on (I've found it easier to create titles burned onto the video itself, instead of making a subtitle track - maybe someday, I'll learn the other way around). Placing the subtitles is tough, but it's really helping me be able to get a good ear for Quebecois.
My ultimate plan is to try to finish an episode a week and upload it to either Vimeo or YouTube, but sitting at a computer for so long gets hard, especially in the summer heat. I may have to say every other week, and hold off til I have a few under my belt to get uploading.
My friends Jackie and Chris got married over the weekend. I overate and spent a good portion of the evening with a bad stomach-ache, and leaving the room to lay down somewhere else. I will eat like a bird usually, but when I'm around a LOT of food, my willpower goes out the window. Everything tasted amazing, though! And I had a good time otherwise.
They had a bit of a Harry Potter theme going - The wedding and reception were held at the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, which is the closest look Rochester has to Hogwarts. The placement cards (for who sits where) were scattered around a sorting hat, and next to that, the party favours were bags of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and little Gladiolus bulbs made out to look like Mandrake roots.
I felt like I wasn't meant to dance with the bride or groom, though. I danced with Chris a little bit, and we talked about the honeymoon, and Japan, and he revealed that he minor'd in Japanese, and actually went to Japan. What? I wanted to know so much more! But no, Jackie stole him away from me. And then when Jackie beckoned me onto the dance floor, she said she hasn't gotten to dance with me all night, and that's as far as we got before she got called away to someone else. I felt really sad about that and there was nothing I could do about it except watch everyone else get their chance with them.
But to end it on a happy note, I really did have a good time. Plenty more happy moments than not (there's also a video of The Kiss on my instaG).
Pokemon Go... oh boy.
I don't know shit about Pokemon, but I downloaded it to see what's all the rage. It's cute, but even on energy-saver, it drains the battery, and skyrockets my data usage. After my first day, I got a text saying I've used 90% of my allowance (not sure where I was at before, but I usually get notified when I'm at 75%, too). I'm not going to talk about the conspiracy privacy thing (apparently, the privacy policy gives full access to gmail).
The data/battery aside, this game shows a lot of benefits.
First, it gets people (who might not otherwise) out of the house and walking around. And with as big a hit as this is, all the Poke-nerds are coming out to play, and you walk down the street, or look at the large groups of relatively young people in any area, and they're all looking at their phones, and it's different than any other group of young people who look at their phones. It's like watching zombies, but they socialize in a different way. They still talk to each other, even in passing, you might hear, "Happy hunting!" from a passerby. And no, people aren't walking while glued to their phones - you put your phone down by your side and walk. You'll feel a buzz when a pokemon appears (and it won't disappear before you've finished crossing the street, so hurry up).
And that's the second thing. Not only are people getting a little bit more exercise and breathing fresh air (good for physical and mental health), but they're socializing. Back in the day, Pokemon was played with other players - that much hasn't changed. Then there was the show and the video game, and the social aspect was taken away. Nobody left the room, the basement, the corner of a school lobby... Now, like an old fashioned card tournament, people are getting out there and meeting other players. Meeting new people. On my first day, I exchanged knowing glances and met a bunch of people at one spot alone. They gave me a few good tips, and we all hunted together. It was great. I saw people exchanging info on the park bench, groups moseying over to other groups to chat, and I just thought it was all pretty cool.
Even in the middle of the night, the little hotspots around town had a few people chilling out.
As for this week, nothing much. Going to see Gin Blossoms tomorrow. Going to see Weird Science on Friday. Oh! I started my pole classes! Holy hell, my arms are gonna be ROCKIN' at the end of the summer! And hardcore pms-eating.
For the rest of the week, I shall prepare an asexual-aware goth outfit for the pride parade on Saturday. It will most likely be the ace colors via accessories and buttons.
